Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-03-10
PLEA FOR ANARCHISTS.
Arguments Submitted by Which They
Expect New Trial.
Leonard SWEET, Associate Counsel in
the Appeal Takes His POn0erOuS
Document to Ottawa.

chicago dispatch says that Leonard
SWEET, associate counsel in the appeal of
the condemned anarchists, started for
Ottawa last night to file his brief for the
ueIenoants before the Illinois Supreme
court. Inc document, which consists of
n1nety-slx pages of printed matter, con-
ta'ns ABOUT one sixteenth of the original
record or the evidence of the famous
trial. Briefly summarized Mr.. SWEET in
his appeal, claims, that, under the indict.
ments presented by the Grand jury, his
clients are not guilty Of the murder of
Matthias j. began, on May last. That
they were tried In times of great popular
excitement. That much incompetent
evidence was admitted at the trial. The
Revenge" circular, for example, the ar
gument holds, is irrelevant, from the fact
of its procuI ement having been brought
about by methods in direct violation of
the Constitution of the United States.
The point is made that the manner of
of securing and using it against the
defendants was compelling them 1.-THE
defendants) to give self eliminating
evidence, which it is also claimed was an
illegal procedure. Among other evidence
admitted as competent were bombs, full
IninatIng caps. These were unlawfully
seized, and consequently came under the
head of unlawful evidence. An attempt
is then made to impeach the States
principal witness, Gilmer. His testimony
the defense claims, was wholly uncorro-
borated on the one hand, and, on the
other, seventeen witnesses, who swear to
to facts, the most of which are absolutely
compatible with the truth of Gilmer's
statement. The brief then goes on to
prove that the main witness for the pro-
secution started out with two deliberate
falsehoods in his statement under oath:
that this was sufficient to invalidate the
rest of his testimony. No incendiary re-
marks, 1t is asserted. were made by any
of the defendants. On the contrary, the
evidence of the stenographic reporters
notes are quoted in the case of Parsons
and others.
PARSONS, FOR INSTANCE,
was convicted of melting to riot and sub
sequent murder the mob on the Haymar-
ket. When the crowd which parsons was
addressing from the wagon cried that they
were ready then and there to take up arms
against the law and throttle it, the speak
er is quoted from the evidence as reply
ing: You are not. ] am not here for the
purpose of exciting anybody, but speak
out, to tell you the facts as they exist"
This is all the evidence against Parsons.
In the course of his remarks he spoke of
Jay Gould. Some one cried ont, Hang
him" Parsons replied in substances:
'No, this is not conflict between, in
dividuals, but for change of system, and
socialism desires to remove the causes
which produce the pauper and the million
ARE, but does not aim at the life of the
He also said that if Jay
Gould were killed, another or hundred
would come up in his place like jack-in-
a-box; be also said that, to kill the in
dividual millionaire would be like killing
the flea on the dog, whereas the purpose
of socialism was the destruction of the
dog himself-a change of the present
system"
Oscar Neebe was found guilty of MUIR
der, and sentenced to the penitentiary
for fifteen years. The evidence against
him proved that he had manufactured
bombs. The Incentive for the manufac-
ture of these bombs had never bees. made
clear. Lingg's conviction wound be legal
if he had made the bomb with the avowed
intention of throwing or having it thrown
on the night of the g.turder of Deegan
This fact had not been established.
HAD MADE A BOMB.
That was all. Fielden, if he shot at all,
must have fired into three men, to-wit:
Bonfeld, Steele and Ward; yet he hit
neither of them, and they did not see
him fire Or feel his bullet. In contra
diction of the evidence advanced against
Schwab, it is argued that the associate
editor of the Arbeiter Zeitung knew moth
ing Of the alleged cons piracy. He was
unfortunate enough to have said harsh
things of capital, capitalists, the law and
its enforcers. That, in point of fact,
co nvicted him of participation in the
murder of an officer, the principal in
which crime had not been identified. Gill
mer had doubtfully, not positively, iden-
tilted Schnaubelt, al on this Identified
ton eight men are drawn into the drag
net of the prosecution and SEN
fenced to be hanged for muir
der. The contradictory evidence of
witnesses for the prosecution is given
great amount of space and atten ton.
Further on, under the head of illegal evil
depce, the Introduction of Most's book,
bloody clothes, and letter of Most to
S spies; the combustible tin cans. the yard
notices, and the unlawful circumstances
upder which the articles named were
secured, are dealt upon at length. 1t is
claimed, too, that the law of cons piracy
was misapplied at the trial; that the COM
mission of one crime can net be proved
to establish another crime; that an act,
to be admissible, must be IL furtherance
Of
COMMON DESIGN.
In closing his argument Mr.. SWEET says
''The truth is, man wants more than he
used to want. He may labor, or he may
in Int hut yuhan he SECS athar raoa